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The Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP of PJSC Irkutskenergo to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first power unit in December 2015

In December 2015, the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP of PJSC Irkutskenergo will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the launch of the first power unit. The Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP is the main source of heat supply to the city of Irkutsk, whose population exceeds 600,000 people; the power plant also helps meet electricity demand within the energy system of Siberia.

Currently, the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP is a large power generating complex comprising a high-pressure power plant (the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP), a medium-pressure power plant (CHPP-5) and a 563-kilometer-long heating network in Irkutsk, including pumping stations, district heating substations and two electric boiler houses (the section of the heating network operated by the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP). 1,080 power engineers work to ensure uninterrupted heat supply to consumers in Irkutsk, Shelekhov and the village of Markova.

The history of the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP started on June 25, 1968, when the Council of Ministers of the USSR approved design specifications for the construction of the 520 MW Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP. Construction of the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP plant began in 1969; the design had been prepared by the Siberian branch of VNIPIEnergoprom. At present, the capacity of the power plant totals 708 MW. An increase in the capacity of the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP was made possible due to the implementation of a number of projects in the past years. In 2003, a unique boiler No. 8 with an annular furnace was put into full operation; its throughput totals 820 t/h. Between 2005 and 2008, heating main No. 4 connecting the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP and the right bank was constructed in two stages, and a number of uneconomical heat generating facilities were closed, such as the Sverdlovskaya district boiler house and the Releynaya, Lisikha and Baikalskaya electric boiler houses on the right bank. This helped free up additional electricity generating capacity totaling about 240 MW for the development of the city, to reassign the task of meeting consumer demand for heat in the Sverdlovsky and Pravoberezhny districts of the city to the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP and minimize the cost of heat generation. In 2010, a second line of cross-link pipes was installed at the power plant in order to improve the reliability and flexibility of its main equipment. In December 2013, a R-50-130/13 steam extraction turbine (53 MW) was put into operation. Thus, the installed capacity of the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP increased from 655 MW to 708 MW.

Oleg Prichko, CEO of PJSC Irkutskenergo: “The power industry is one of the sectors which require constant modernization and innovation. Today, the Novo-Irkutskaya CHPP is a high-tech facility shaped by committed efforts of design engineers, several generations of highly qualified specialists, the experience and skills of power industry veterans and the initiative of young employees."